There were some absolutely incredible games played by the teams at the top of the rankings. The Newport Wildcats are the new All A Classic state champions, Cooper toppled CovCath, and Ryle came out on top in a barn burner in the Hoosier Gym. Let's dive in and break down what happened and where we go from here.

Rankings

1. Newport - The Wildcats became the first public school team out of the 9th region since 1981 Bellevue to win the All A Classic state championship. They did so by defeating Sayre, Danville Christian, mighty Lyon County and Travis Perry, and finally Evangel Christian. Deshaun Jackson was named tournament MVP and Jabari Covington scored 22 in the title game. The most incredible part of this, to me at least, is they pulled it off with a hampered Taylen Kinney. Get him healthy and I don't know who is going to stop the Wildcats with the way they are winning. They have a light week this week as they play at district foe Bellevue as their sole game.

2. Cooper - Alongside Newport beating Lyon County on Deshaun Jackson's floater in the final seconds, Cooper's defeat of Covington Catholic goes in the book of incredible wins. Shaun Pouncy and Yamil Rondon each had 17 as the Jaguars won by 10 on the road. They out rebounded the Colonels 37 to 28. Their other game last week was closer as they hosted Lexington Christian and came out victorious 60 to 57. They face Campbell County at home before going to Augusta for the 9th vs. 10th Hardwood Classic where they take on the Mason County Royals.

3. Covington Catholic - There are 16 regions in Kentucky and I find it hard to believe that CovCath wouldn't be number 1 in more than half of them. Unfortunately, they play in one of the toughest regions in the state. Another Caden Miller double double (13 points, 10 rebounds) wasn't enough to get CovCath to overcome the Jaguars of Cooper at home. They were able to bounce back with a blowout win over Highlands where Caden Miller went for 22 points and 18 rebounds and got a high quality win over Ashland where Miller went for 21 and another 18 rebounds. That young man is certainly proving his claim to the title of best big man in all of Northern Kentucky. The Colonels host Campbell County and Ryle this week.

4. Lloyd - The Juggernauts got two double digit road wins in their district this past week as they defeated Dixie and Ludlow. EJ Walker, Isaiah Sebastian and Anthony Blaackar are all averaging double figures and have proven to be a 3 headed monster difficult to slay. They are another team with a light week this week, hosting WEB DuBois as their sole contest.

5. Ryle - The Raiders' undefeated 2024 continues as they defeated Beechwood by 5 behind Landon Lorms' 25 points and raced past Bell County at the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown, Indiana to the tune of 88 to 87. They host Simon Kenton and Highlands this week before going on the road to Park Hills to play the Colonels of Covington Catholic in what is sure to be an intense matchup.

6. Boone County - Mason Hall's 19 point night wasn't enough to stop the Rebels from dropping one at home to Scott. They came back with a win two nights later as they hosted Mason County, Thomas Williams going off for 32 points. They travel to Holmes and Williamstown this week and do not play another home game until February 13.

7. Holy Cross - Nate Rominger scored 18 points as Holy Cross defeated visiting Lewis County but his team high 14 points on the road against Mason County weren't enough to get the win. They have just one game this week, a Wednesday night road trip to Grant County. 

8. Highlands - The Birds routed Brossart by 30 at home behind Nathan Vinson's 22 points and Brayden Moeves' 18 points. Unfortunately Highlands would go on to be routed themselves a few nights later at the hands of Covington Catholic, losing 70 to 39. They host Dayton and travel to Ryle and Bellevue this week.

9. Dixie Heights - The Colonels had two home games last week, losing to Lloyd but beating NCC behind a pair of 20 point performances by Hudson Blank and Griffin Derry. They have FOUR road games this week, playing Grant County, Villa Madonna, Ludlow and Augusta.

10. Conner - The Cougars have an ugly record. There is no denying that. They are 5 - 14 but got 2 of those wins last week as they beat Simon Kenton at home and went on the road to beat Beechwood. They have also lost five games by 3 points or less and had one loss go to double overtime. The team in the 1 spot that has to face them in the district tournament should be better, but I think the Cougars continue to give us reasons why you can't just dismiss the idea of an upset. They travel to Scott and Mason County this week before hosting South Dearborn (Indiana).

11. St. Henry

12. Beechwood

13. Newport Central Catholic

14. Ludlow

15. Bellevue

16. Villa Madonna

17. Heritage

18. Holmes

19. Dayton

20. Covington Latin

Guessing either 11 or 13 should be someone besides St. Henry!

Great work this week, this wasn't an easy week to rank these teams, although the Top 3 sorted themselves out a bit for you with two HUGE wins.

Nice job this year!

Great work this week….

It was closer than the score would indicate, I’ll leave it at that. ?

3 hours ago, The Double Deuce said:

Guessing either 11 or 13 should be someone besides St. Henry!

Great work this week, this wasn't an easy week to rank these teams, although the Top 3 sorted themselves out a bit for you with two HUGE wins.

Nice job this year!

Ugh, yes, 13 was supposed to be the other Catholic school that is having a so-so year, NCC.

17 hours ago, se7ens said:

Ugh, yes, 13 was supposed to be the other Catholic school that is having a so-so year, NCC.

Gotcha handled @se7ens. Great work, as usual!